Saints now need help after falling to Bengals

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Every so often, another New Orleans Saint
muttered a cuss word under his breath, breaking the silence but not
the melancholy in the locker room.

Allen's Analysis

Question on the Saints: How do you lay an egg like this with so much on the line?
The Saints have been laying this egg on defense all season. Plus, QB Aaron Brooks might still be bothered by the injury he suffered earlier to his throwing arm. So this loss shouldn't surprise anyone. The Bengals are playing with their backs to the wall at this time of the year -- the coach's job is on the line, players' jobs are on the line. So they're going to give their best effort.

Question on the Bengals: So is this all the encouragement Mike Brown needs to bring back LeBeau?
Probably. The Bengals don't want to pay two coaches' salaries, and LeBeau has a year left on his contract. Teams that win invest more in their personnel departments than Cincinnati does. It takes time and resources to build a winner, and from what I hear, the Bengals don't invest enough of either.

Eric Allen played cornerback for 14 NFL seasons with the Eagles, Saints and Raiders.

They couldn't fathom how they had just out-bungled the NFL's
biggest bunglers, possibly costing them a playoff spot.

The Saints played more like the league's worst team Sunday,
losing 20-13 to the Cincinnati Bengals. Nick Luchey scored two late
touchdowns that will torment New Orleans for a week -- and maybe
much longer.

"It's a big, strong gut-check about us now,'' said Aaron
Brooks, who misfired on his last 11 passes during a second-half
meltdown.

New Orleans (9-6) fell behind Atlanta and the New York Giants in
the push for the last two playoff berths. The Falcons and Giants
both won Sunday, so the Saints have to beat Carolina next week and
hope one of them loses.

The loss also handed the NFC South title to Tampa Bay, which
plays Pittsburgh on Monday night.

It came down to the Saints' inability to put away the Bengals
(2-13), who hadn't won at home all season and had become the
league's symbol of ineptitude.

"Everything was in our court today, but we were the Aints and
they weren't the Bungles,'' said left tackle Kyle Turley after the
Saints' third-straight loss.

They were known as the Aints during their 20-year run without a
winning season. Just eight days ago, they were poised to clinch
their second playoff berth in three years.

Then they made a trip down memory lane, blowing fourth-quarter
leads against last-place teams.

Daunte Culpepper's touchdown pass and 2-point conversion run
with 5 seconds left gave Minnesota a victory last Sunday, denying
the Saints a chance to clinch on their home field.

This time, the Bengals pulled one out with their best player on
the bench. Corey Dillon bruised his left elbow, leaving it to
Luchey -- who changed his name from Nick Williams before the season
-- to provide the next gut wrench.

His 3-yard run with 1:46 to play gave the Bengals their first
home victory this season and their first win over an established
team. The other came against expansion Houston.

Losing to Minnesota was bad. This was beyond belief.

"It's embarrassing,'' receiver Joe Horn said. "Everybody in
the nation and their mamas knows that. We shouldn't be in this
situation. We're making all these teams out of the playoffs feel
good about their offseason.''

Well, it made the Bengals feel good about themselves for one
day.

"I don't understand why we weren't doing it all year,''
linebacker Brian Simmons said. "That's the confusing part of this
year.''

Even the public address announcer was confused as Luchey led
them back.

Luchey, who hadn't carried the ball all season, scored on a
1-yard run with 10:42 to play. With their characteristic flair, the
Bengals had the extra-point blocked, leaving it tied at 13.

Bengals' fans embrace receiver Chad Johnson after he jumped into the stands after Sunday's victory.

Brooks tripped and fell as he dropped to pass on the Saints'
next play, and Toby Gowin's 27-yard punt gave the Bengals their
chance.

With the public address announcer mispronouncing his name after
each carry, Luchey (it's LOO-chee, not loo-SHAY) ran eight times
for 52 yards and caught one pass on the winning drive.

The 6-foot-2, 265-pound running back finished with 59 yards on
12 carries, and did an impromptu Ickey Shuffle after his second
career touchdown put the Bengals ahead.

"That was my shout-out to Ickey,'' he said. "I wear his jersey
number, and he's a friend of mine. I respect what he and (Tim)
Krumrie and Boomer (Esiason) and guys like that did for this
franchise 10 to 12 years ago.''

Coach Jim Haslett said the Saints -- who had only one timeout
left -- let Luchey score on the final run so they'd have a chance to
get the ball back. Brooks finished it by throwing four
incompletions, leaving him 0-for-7 in the fourth quarter.

He wasn't alone in letting it slip. Boo Williams dropped a
potential touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, and the Saints had
five fumbles -- the kinds of things the Bengals usually do.

"That wasn't us out there today,'' Haslett said.

It was more like the Aints.

Game notes

Brooks threw his team-record 27th TD pass, the Saints set a
club record for points in a season, John Carney set a club record
for points in a season, and Michael Lewis set an NFL record for
combined punt/return yards in a season. ... Brooks was 16-of-38 for
203 yards. ... The Bengals sold 43,544 tickets, the second-smallest
gate in stadium history. About 25,000 to 30,000 fans attended.